Over history marketing and advertising has evolved from the traditional “bull horn” shouting messages at customers to give them information or gain their attention to a more interactive landscape. Customer experience marketing has become a new age branding method and the invention of social media has unleashed amazing opportunities for companies to converse directly with their customers.

Social media platforms have enabled brands to engage their customers with product discussions as well create interaction between those with common interests and the brand itself. The ability to do this allows brands to understand exactly what their consumers’ interests are, likes and dislikes about their products and keeps their consumers up-to-date with the latest product announcements and sales promotions. These social communication channels play an important role in the customer experience with the brand. Consumers look to these channels and if they enjoy them, they are likely to participate more and become/stay loyal customers. This could even lead them share and promote the brand to their friends and online followers which extends brand awareness and reach for sales opportunities. Furthermore, learning what their customers are thinking allows them to adjust their branding strategies and product offerings accordingly with the targeted market information they discover.

This Pinterest post describes this idea perfectly:

However, as great at these advantages are, these capabilities come with a double-edged sword. Brands have to be careful what kind of customer experience they create. Their actions; posts, blogs, photos, videos, comments, tweets and more if not done well or unethically, can create a negative experience and turn customers away. Also, critics worry that opening such lines of communication creates a power shift by allowing customers to quickly and easily defame a brand. These channels must be monitored, updated and customers answered consistently a brand’s social media pro.

Most of us are familiar with the saying, “buyer beware;” more like “brander beware” for this instance. Use social media channels wisely in customer experience marketing efforts.

Check out this neat customer experience marketing example from Adidas – consumers can create their own shoes using Instagram photos. This involves the customer directly with the brand through a social media channel.